Affidavits, records released in Holmes case

KUSA - Previously sealed arrest affidavits and records warrants in the Aurora shooting case were released by the court Thursday.

These documents contain information and evidence police gathered to support the arrest of James Holmes.

In one of the search warrant documents, Holmes' psychiatrist Dr. Lynne Fenton described Holmes as having "homicidal thoughts and also stated that Jame E. Holmes had threatened andharassedher via email/text messages."

On June 12, 2012, Holmes' CU Denver medical campus ID was deactivated due to that complaint.

In the days after the attack, campus police said they had never had contact with Holmes, who was a graduate student at the university.

But campus police Officer Lynn Whitten told investigators after the shooting that Fenton had contacted her. Whitten said Fenton was following her legal requirement to report threats to authorities, according to a search warrant affidavit.

"Dr. Fenton advised that through her contact with James Holmes she was reporting, per her requirement, his danger to the public due to homicidal statements he had made," the affidavit said.

The document that included the threats to the psychiatrist was filed to obtain the contents of a package Holmes sent to her before the attack. That package included a notebook that the newly released documents describe as like a "journal."

The package was dated July 12 - eight days before the massacre - but was found four days after the attack, in the university mail room. It included a note with an "infinity design" and burnt $20 bills.

Other court documents described Holmes' behavior after police found him, still clad in ballistic gear, leaving the theater after the attack. After Holmes' arrest, one officer asked if anyone was with him.

Holmes, who was carrying $280 in cash and credit cards, replied: "It's just me."

The records released Thursday show that police found more than 50 cans and bottles of beer, a Batman mask, paper shooting targets and drugs used to treat depression and anxiety in the apartment in Aurora. Police detailed more than 100 items found there.

The documents had been sealed. A new judge, Carlos Samour,overseeing the case ordered them released after requests from media organizations including 9NEWS.

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys had raised concerns about releasing the documents. Prosecutors said they were worried about the privacy of victims and witnesses if the records were released. Attorneys for Holmes said they didn't want to hurt his chances for a fair trial.

Samour had said he was reluctant to release the documents before the preliminary hearing, when prosecutors laid out evidence on whether Holmes could be brought to trial. After that hearing occurred in January, Samour said lawyers failed to show that releasing the records would cause any harm, or that keeping the documents sealed would prevent any harm.

Holmes faces the death penalty if convicted of killing 12 people during the attack. His attorneys have said he was mentally ill.